News & Events

The 2011 Annual Alumni and Student Leadership Awards

April 7, 2011

UNC Asheville presented its annual alumni and student leadership awards at a campus ceremony on April 5. Awards were presented by Chancellor Anne Ponder, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Bill Haggard and National Alumni Council Chair James Carter ’00.

UNC Asheville's highest alumni recognition, the Roy A. Taylor Distinguished Alumna Award, was presented to Pete McDaniel ’74 for his incredible career as a sports writer.  For more than 13 years he served as sport editor for the Hendersonville Times-News and for the past two decades has served as a senior writer for Golf Digest and Golf World magazines.

For the first time ever, an alumni couple received the Thomas D. Reynolds Award for Service to the University. The award went to Alexis ’97 and Ed ’96 Johnson for their support of UNC Asheville as the keepers of the University’s mascot, Rocky I.  Since Rocky I was introduced to Bulldog fans during Homecoming 2009, Alexis and Ed have contributed thousands of hours to the University presenting Rocky I. Rarely turning down an appearance, Alexis and Ed have made Rocky I into a beloved icon of UNC Asheville.

Kinneil Coltman was inducted into the Order of Pisgah for outstanding achievement in her professional field. She serves as the Director of Diversity and Language Services for the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center.  Through her leadership the hospital system has significantly expanded it outreach and ability to serve a broad array of diverse patients.  Additionally, Kinneil serves as Chair of the Board for the International Center of the Upstate and is also active with the YWCA of Greenville and the South Carolina Hospital Association Diversity Council. 

The Alumni Distinguished Faculty Award was given to Brenda Hopper, director of the UNC Asheville Teaching Fellows program. Hopper has served the program for more than two decades, mentoring hundreds of future educators and public servants. Her genuine care and concern for her students’ professional and personal well being has earned her love and respect from all members of the UNC Asheville community.

The Francine M. Delany Awards for Service to the Community were presented to Carol King ’89 and Amanda Edwards ’99. Although she spends countless hours running Carol L. King & Associates, one of Asheville’s most respected CPA firms, King is also a dedicated public servant. More than a decade ago, Carol took on the mantle of leadership in the redevelopment of one of Asheville most beloved landmarks, Pack Square.  As the founding Chair of the Pack Square Conservancy, Carol brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to transform Asheville’s historic city center into a park and community gathering space for the twenty-first century.

Edwards serves as Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Buncombe County. As a result of Amanda’s leadership over the past seven years, the Literacy Council has increased its fundraising by over 60 percent and has significantly expanded its outreach, especially in the Hispanic-, Ukrainian- and Russian-American communities.  Each year, thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and staff and Amanda’s leadership, the Literacy Council teaches hundreds of native and non-native speakers to read English.